Small but mighty. That's the phrase that kept coming back to me throughout last week's webinar. The three panelists who joined us are running lean DTC teams — Chelsea Leniart, Wine Club Manager at Scheid Family Wines, Hilary Berkey, Director of Sales, Marketing and Operations at Emeritus Vineyards, and Kristy Quigley, Operations Manager at Alma Rosa Winery. "Lean teams" meaning two or three people deep. At the most. The outsized results they're seeing, in a market that everyone agrees is hard, are genuinely remarkable. Here's some highlights and takeaways from  what they shared in last week's webinar. On Wine Club Customization The fear is that if you give members flexibility, they'll race to the bottom and swap out for your cheapest wines.  What Chelsea actually found was the opposite.  By studying what members customized in the previous year's March run, she reshaped this year's offering mor

“What can I do right now to help my winery sell more wine and, frankly, stay in business?” We know how many of our colleagues and friends are asking this question. We see and to hear it as an urgent problem that needs immediate attention. Which is exactly why we put together tomorrow’s FREE webinar, on better tools and strategies for navigating a tough market. There’s still time to sign up here. We’re particularly excited to shine the spotlight on three smart industry pros as they share their own strategies and toolkits. Here are some highlights to start: Chelsea Leniart, Wine Club Manager at Scheid Family Wines, will talk about inventory management and boosting Club revenue through projected customizations. Hilary Berkey, Director of Sales, Marketing and Operations at Emeritus Vineyards, will talk about hyper-segmentation in outbound sales, and the "side effects" of ideation for different teams. Kristy Quigley, Operations Manager

Tailgate | Fungicide Spraying: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint & Financial Burden Learn how to optimize the use of biofungicides alone or integrated into a conventional fungicide program.  Dr. Ding of Cal Poly shares results from a recent study on on the efficacy of different fungicide programs and their impact on grape yield and berry chemistry.  Talk with farmers from three growing regions about their fungicide programs. Plus, learn about Cal Poly’s wine & vit programs during a tour of the new, state of the art winery and vineyard. REGISTER Agenda: 8:30 am - Winery Tour with Erica Nordby, CalPoly 9:00 - 11:00 am - Presentations & Panel Discussion Speakers: Shunping Ding, Cal Poly Erica Nordby, Cal Poly Erin Amaral, Pacific Coast Farming Hilary Graves, Booker Wines Ruben Solorzano, Coastal Vineyard Care Associates Bob Thomas, Mesa Vineyard Management CE Approved: DPR 1 - O; CCA 2 - IPM REGISTER Directions: - Take exit for California Blvd. - turn right o

Tailgate | Fungicide Spraying: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint & Financial Burden Learn how to optimize the use of biofungicides alone or integrated into a conventional fungicide program.  Dr. Ding of Cal Poly shares results from a recent study on on the efficacy of different fungicide programs and their impact on grape yield and berry chemistry.  Talk with farmers from three growing regions about their fungicide programs. Plus, learn about Cal Poly’s wine & vit programs during a tour of the new, state of the art winery and vineyard. REGISTER Agenda: 8:30 am - Winery Tour with Erica Nordby, CalPoly 9:00 - 11:00 am - Presentations & Panel Discussion Speakers: Shunping Ding, Cal Poly Erica Nordby, Cal Poly Erin Amaral, Pacific Coast Farming Hilary Graves, Booker Wines Ruben Solorzano, Coastal Vineyard Care Associates Bob Thomas, Mesa Vineyard Management CE Approved: DPR 1 - O; CCA 2 - IPM REGISTER Directions: - Take exit for California Blvd. - turn right

Expert Editorial: Reporting Dispute Claims Within Closely Held Wineries

Disputes fermenting between winery shareholders may not be governed by fiduciary duties but could be covered by insurance. By Amy Briggs and Hilary Krause Many wineries operate as closely held […]

California’s 2023 crop has continued to run behind by between two and four weeks, depending on area: Lake and Mendocino counties, for example, can be characterized as running less behind than other areas of the Coast. September brought generally cool conditions, some spotty rainfall to northern California mid-month, and some more widespread showers at the end, exacerbating the pre-existing delay to berry sizing and ripening caused by unseasonable coolness throughout the growing season and Hurricane Hilary’s humidity in August.  This meant berries were sizing up all through September, then a mini heatwave at the start of October brought a few successive days of 90°F+. Consequently, a lot of fruit sized and became riper in a short period of time, shifting the harvest into higher gear and potentially putting pressure on logistics such as trucking, crush capacity and storage. Now that we are into mid-October, the urge to get the grapes in will intensify: Sales of grape

With the growing season continuing to run approximately two to four weeks behind a normal timetable, the 2023 harvest is fully underway in the southern Central Valley but just getting started or not yet ready to commence in most other areas of the state. According to viticultural climatologist Gregory V. Jones, much of California has received 110-200% of its normal precipitation since the turn of the year: The effect of the cooler and wetter growing season was compounded in mid-August by the arrival of Hurricane Hilary, which brought a few days of torrential rain and humidity to many areas.  The mildew problem that has been in evidence all through the season has therefore continued, while botrytis and sour rot have become evident in the southern Valley as grapes have started getting picked. We have heard of significant rejections of fruit, with sour rot the likeliest cause; Zinfandel is the varietal mentioned most in this context, though that may simply be because it is one of the

Afternoon Brief, August 18th

Potential Rain in Hurricane Hilary’s Wake Worrisome for Sonoma County Winegrowers: North Bay winemakers have been tracking the forecast closely, worried about what any rainfall could mean at this key time of year...

La Prenda Wines Announces December Events in the Tasting Room

Holiday Centerpiece Workshop – Dec 15, Holiday Party with local Cartoonist Hilary Campbell – Dec 22 SONOMA, CA (December 6, 2022) —La Prenda Wines is pleased to announce upcoming Holiday […]

Cline Family Cellars Announces Key Management Appointments

Hilary Cline promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Direct to Consumer Sales, Steve Jannicelli joins Senior Management Team as Chief Financial Officer September 9th – SONOMA, Calif.  — Cline […]